Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The "Why" Does Tell Us Something!, 30 Jun 2007
This well-acted movie held my interest throughout, but it somehow left me dissatisfied. I feel that the writers fudged by not offering any insight on Hannsen's motives for betraying his country. He does not seem to have done so for reasons of ideology. The scriptwriters' thrice-repeated portrayal of the Hannsen character as saying: "The 'why' doesn't tell us anything!" seems to me to be a cop-out for not offering a plausible explanation, even though such an explanation might be merely speculation. Are we really supposed to think that Hannsen spied for the Soviet Union because of a nasty father? Or because Hannsen sent racy tapes of himself and his wife to his best friend? Or, even less plausibly, because Hannsen was, according to the film, a devoted member of Opus Dei? Or because he nobly took only $100,000 for his services (as opposed to the millions taken by Ames)? For that matter, does Hannsen even deserve the title of 'mole,' since that term, as coined by John Le Carré, refers to someone who was recruited by the Soviets (as were the Cambridge Spies, who, incidentally, took no money) to penetrate an agency on a long-term basis, becoming active only at the behest of his handlers? Hannsen was already in place in a position of importance; a mole does not usually volunteer his services for hire!
Be that as it may, I believe that the film, which, it must be reiterated, was well acted and entertaining, would have become far more intriguing and complex had the authors offered some insight into the character of their antagonist, who, in the film, for the most part, seems to have been merely obnoxious.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The "Why" Does Tell Us Something!, 1 Jul 2007
This well-acted movie held my interest throughout, but it somehow left me dissatisfied. I feel that the writers fudged by not offering any insight on Hannsen's motives for betraying his country. He does not seem to have done so for reasons of ideology. The scriptwriters' thrice-repeated portrayal of the Hannsen character as saying: "The 'why' doesn't tell us anything!" seems to me to be a cop-out for not offering a plausible explanation, even though such an explanation might be merely speculation. Are we really supposed to think that Hannsen spied for the Soviet Union because of a nasty father? Or because Hannsen sent racy tapes of himself and his wife to his best friend? Or, even less plausibly, because Hannsen was, according to the film, a devoted member of Opus Dei? Or because he nobly took only $100,000 for his services (as opposed to the millions taken by Ames)? For that matter, does Hannsen even deserve the title of 'mole,' since that term, as coined by John Le Carré, refers to someone who was recruited by the Soviets (as were the Cambridge Spies, who, incidentally, took no money) to penetrate an agency on a long-term basis, becoming active only at the behest of his handlers? Hannsen was already in place in a position of importance; a mole does not usually volunteer his services for hire!
Be that as it may, I believe that the film, which, it must be reiterated, was well acted and entertaining, would have become far more intriguing and complex had the authors offered some insight into the character of their antagonist, who, in the film, for the most part, seems to have been merely obnoxious.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
2 1/2 Stars: The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold, 21 Feb 2007
"Breach" is an earnest, straightforward and mostly dull film about a potentially fascinating FBI investigation into the life of one of its own bureaucrats, Robert Hanssen (played coolly and icily by the usually interesting Chris Cooper), who is suspected of selling US secrets to the Russians. FBI honcho Kate Burroughs (a determined, clench-teethed Laura Linney) sets up a sting utilizing a young, smart and ambitious Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillipe in an OK performance) to get the goods on Hanssen.
Unfortunately for "Breach," the terrific and similarly themed "The Good Shepherd" is also in current release and "Breach" does not in any way compare favorably with the Matt Damon film: whereas "The Good Shepherd" is equally as quiet and subdued a film as "Breach," "The Good Shepherd" seethes with tension and dynamism underneath its cool, calm surface while "Breach" offers up nothing more than what is on its placid, unenergetic one: a case of something being less than meets the eye.
The basic story of "Breach" is rife with human, social and psychological interest but even the most basic of questions is never answered as in: "Why did Hanssen do it?" Was it Money? Was it the thrill? By not answering this question, and this only becomes an issue because there is so little there on which to hang emotionally, the film is without a moral or even immoral center thus creating a gaping hole it its already static mise en scene.
"Breach" suffers from the malaise of being too safe, emotionally distant, ultimately mostly boring and perversely understated to the point that when the film unspools towards its ignoble conclusion we are more interested in finding our keys than we are about Robert Hanssen... and that is a shame.
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